Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that performs image processing on an imaging signal obtained by performing imaging using an image sensor.
Description of the Related Art
An image processing system performs various types of image processing on an imaging signal that has been output from an image sensor, and outputs the obtained image signal to an external device such as a monitor or a printer.
As an example, in an electronic endoscope device, when an endoscopic image obtained by performing image processing on an imaging signal that has been output from a scope is displayed on a monitor, a mask region is generally provided without displaying the entirety of the imaging region of an image sensor on the monitor. Only an image of a prescribed region within the imaging region of the image sensor is displayed on the monitor.
With regard to a technology for performing variable magnification processing on an image including the mask region described above, a technology has been disclosed for reducing time required for image processing by using a variable magnification mask signal in which a pixel is indicated by information of 1 bit (for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-224017).
In addition, a technology has also been disclosed for displaying an image obtained by performing imaging using a scope provided with a color filter so as to be a color image that is always indicated by a single point in the sample color space when the same color is imaged regardless of the type of the color filter (for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-115963). In this technology, the determination of the size of a region to be masked according to the type of the scope has also been disclosed.
Further, a technology has also been disclosed in which a video processing circuit and a display control circuit are included for each output destination device, an endoscopic video signal is distributed and given to these circuits, and each of the circuits processes the endoscopic video signal (for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-13409).